Case Number 21487

SANCTUM (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

The only way out is down.

Opening Statement

A 3-D movie about underwater exploration? James "Ghosts of the
Abyss" Cameron must be all over this.

Facts of the Case

A team of divers set out to explore a series of caves deep beneath the
ocean's surface in Papa New Guinea. There's Frank (Richard Roxburgh, Van
Helsing), the most experienced diver and leader of the expedition; Josh
(Rhys Wakefield, Broken Hill), his estranged son; wealthy Carl (Ioan
Gruffudd, The TV Set), who is bankrolling the expedition; his girlfriend
Victoria (Alice Parkinson, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and several other
crew and assistants. As the crew begins to hit obstacle after obstacle on their
dive, they wind up having to go further and further down until the possibility
presents itself that they'll never make their way back to the surface. Things
only get worse from there.

The Evidence

Don't be fooled by the presence of James Cameron's name attached to the 2011
diving thriller Sanctum. It's a bad movie that he had very little to do
with, save for offering to slap his named on the advertising in an attempt to
give it his "seal of approval" -- especially valuable since when
Sanctum played in theaters, in was mostly in the 3-D IMAX format. Cameron
has had a little success in that area, and if the ads for Sanctum hinted
in any way that it would recreate the experience of seeing Avatar, then
Cameron had done his job.

Judging by the box office returns for the movie, though (it was unable to
recoup even its relatively low $30 million budget, and that's with the inflated
ticket prices for 3-D and IMAX), audiences were not fooled. With good reason,
too, as Sanctum is a very bad movie, filled with flat acting,
embarrassing dialogue and a plot that's right out of Vertical Limit.
Remember Vertical Limit? Ever wonder what that would look like in
underwater caves? You may be the audience for Sanctum.

Save for some nice underwater photography, there is nothing to recommend in
Sanctum. The film is endlessly repetitive in its structure: once things
are under way, the team encounters a new obstacle, something goes wrong,
everyone shouts and usually one member doesn't make it to the other side. Repeat
six or seven times, and you've (supposedly) got yourself a movie. Compounding
the problem is the fact that pretty much every character is either a) unlikable
b) stupid or c) all of the above. Time and again, characters make the exact
wrong decision for no reason, despite having watched their friends and teammates
die for doing the same thing (perhaps the most egregious is a character who
risks hypothermia because she "won't wear the wetsuit of a dead
woman!"). What, then, is the point of the film's basic "man vs.
nature" theme? Nature does not render us powerless and insignificant, as
Roxburgh's character is so fond of articulating in the movie's many heavy-handed
speeches. Nature beats us not because we are small and fragile; it beats us
because we are stupid and overly confident in our own mortality and ability to
master the elements. Sanctum does not realize this, of course -- it's me
that's assigning that meaning to the movie.

The performances across the board range from barely-there to downright
terrible, as though director Alistair Grierson simply collected a group of
professional divers but amateur actors and made them act in his movie. I would
even think that was the case if the cast exhibited any sense of confidence or
authority when it comes to the diving stuff -- pro divers would at least seem
authentic in those moments. There isn't a scene in Sanctum that's
convincingly acted. Richard Roxbrugh, whose tendency to overact has sank more
than one movie, actually comes across the best -- a silver lining that you
should take in the spirit in which it's intended. Ioan Gruffudd is saddled with
the movie's worst, most ridiculous role (the last 20 minutes of Sanctum
might actually be crazily funny if they weren't so bad) -- not that it matters.
I believe the word is out on Mr. Gruffudd, and the word is that he's a bad
actor. He's asked to do things in this movie that he's simply not up to, and it
made me long for his work as Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four movies.
Sure, he was awful in those, too, but at least there he was only screwing up a
two-dimensional cartoon character. Here, he fails to be convincing as a human
being.

The 2-D version of Sanctum arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal
(it's also available in a 3-D version), and for a new release it's actually got
some problems -- most of which I suspect are as a result of the underwater
photography and the fact that the movie was shot for 3-D. The image is very dark
(it takes place underwater and in caves), which wouldn't be an issue except that
the black levels are uneven and sometimes appear crushed. Colors are often drab,
too, and the image looks rather flat a lot of the time -- again, ironic given
that it was shot for three dimensions and even the 2-D version should display
more depth than what's here. It's not a terrible transfer overall -- there are a
lot of things to like about it -- but it won't blow you away the same way that
most new releases are able to. The 5.1 DTS-HD audio track is somewhat better,
offering clear dialogue in the front channel and reserving the rear and
surrounding speakers for some fairly immersive effects and the movie's haunting
score (one of the only things about Sanctum I liked, even though it's
hardly subtle). It's loud and bombastic when it needs to be, though, which helps
interject a little life into the proceedings.

Director Alistair Grierson, star Rhys Wakefield and producer Andrew Wight
(who also co-wrote the screenplay) sit down for a commentary track that's
reasonably engaging, limited mostly to a production overview with a few
anecdotes about the shoot. Only fans of the movie will want to give it a lesson.
Better -- and more succinct -- is the 45-minute "making of" featurette
that's been included, called "Sanctum: The Real Story." Though
there is some overlap with the commentary, the doc gives a better overall view
of the production and even goes a little into the real story that inspired the
movie. Also included in the supplemental section is a group of forgettable
deleted scenes and a 45-minute documentary, "Nullarbor Dreaming,"
which focuses on a cave diving expedition that Sanctum producer Andrew
Wight was part of and the ways that it went wrong.

Closing Statement

I'm no great proponent of 3-D, and tend to avoid it if possible and if I
don't suspect the movie depends upon it (meaning I'll make a point to see
Tron: Legacy in 3-D but not Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger
Tides). Sanctum may be the kind of movie that was only worth
seeing in 3-D IMAX, where the underwater landscapes could be impressive and
immersive. At home -- even on Blu-ray and with a big screen -- you're forced to
pay too much attention to the story, characters and dialogue. Sanctum
doesn't get any of that right.